DVD

This biopic of rebel slave Nat Turner was once trum­peted as an Os­cars front-run­ner, be­fore the rape al­le­ga­tions resur­fac­ing against writer-direc­tor and star Nate Parker si­lenced the buzz. Alas, the film doesn’t do it­self that many favours, ei­ther: it’s a thump­ingly over-em­phatic epic of Amer­i­can racism from the van­tage point of the op­pressed. It’s also far too much in thrall to Mel Gib­son’s style book, which takes a grace­less mal­let to the head of his­tory. 15 cert, 120 min